Spiritually Worthy of Imitation

There is lots of great information on the Spark People site, but with all the books and blogs on my To Be Read list, most of the time I simply delete the messages that come to my inbox, but not the one that came yesterday.

I haven’t read the article.

I might not read the article.

But I will likely keep it around for a while.

The reason…

The title…

Be worthy of imitation.

Wow!

That hit me upside the head; gave me food for thought; got the wheels spinning…and all sorts of other cliches.

It got me thinking about the apostle Paul. How could a man say, “Follow me…” and still be a servant of Jesus? (Philippians 3:17)

But that was why he could say it. After his conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul lived out his days sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone who would listen – and many who would not.

He could say, “Follow me…” because he was walking in step with the Creator of the universe, the Saviour, the Redeemer. To follow Paul meant to follow Christ.

The apostle lived a life worthy of imitation, but he was clear that he wasn’t cultivating disciples for himself. If listeners referred to themselves as followers of Paul, he was quick to point them to the Only One worthy of their devotion. (1 Corinthians 3:3-5)

Second Corinthians 11:24-28 lists those things Paul endured for the sake of the gospel. Beatings. Stoning. Lost at sea. Hunger. Thirst. Exposure. Anxiety.

Am I willing to do the same? Hardly.

As I shared earlier this week, if I’m honest, one big reason I don’t share my faith is because I’m afraid people won’t like me. To quote the younger generation, “How lame is that?”

So, I want my life to be worthy of imitation in all areas. But the #1 area is my devotion to Jesus Christ.